Mage Wars Design Pitch – Phantom Dust Inspired

The Phantom Dust re-release recently hit Xbox One and Windows 10. Phantom Dust originally released in 2004 in Japan on the original Xbox and then in 2005 in the west. Originally geared towards winning over Japanese market, the game found enough demand to make a western release viable. The game itself is a unique mix of arena fighter/shooter and deck building. If I had to give it a genre title – Action Collectible Card Game. In my opinion, it was ahead of it’s time with the amount of depth in the battle system, gorgeous visuals, destructible environments, and online features.

I sadly missed the boat on this one when it first launched on the original Xbox. Even with the servers shut down, I still picked it up a couple years ago when I was neck deep in design school to check out the mechanics. I instantly fell in love with the concept and started imagining a modern release of it. I just couldn’t shut out the possibilities for online play and companion apps. Imagine customizing your abilities on the bus and trading them with friends on your phone?!?

While in school, we were having to pitch original game ideas on a weekly basis. One of my favorite’s was Mage Wars, a cover-based magical shooter that introduced crystals that could be collected to beef up a player’s arsenal. I drew inspiration from games such as Gears of War and Infamous, but Phantom Dust was at the forefront.

With the re-release of Phantom Dust on current platforms, I thought it a great time to put up the original design document I out together years ago. Super pumped to enjoy this game in all it’s multiplayer glory and I am pulling it gets enough attention to make the reboot a viable option. If you need a designer Microsoft, feel free to reach out to me 😉